The Gambler

There are many amazing books, including both fiction and
non-fiction ones, about casinos over the last century or more. From the casinos
of prohibition USA to the glamour of Monte Carlo and Las Vegas, some of these
provide great entertainment or even give an amazing insight into the professional
gambling world.

1. Casino: Love and
Honor in Las Vegas, written by Nicholas Pileggi

This non-fiction book shows the mob’s loss of influence over
the legal casinos in Las Vegas, offering an unprecedented look into the rule of
mafia’s shady world including money-laundering and the police’s efforts to
bring down the seedier side of Las Vegas. It was made into the 1990s film “Casino”,
featuring Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, and Joe Pesci.

2. Casino Royale,
written by Ian Fleming

The glitz and glamour that James Bond loved casinos have attracted 007 times after time. We first see him enter a casino with Martini in hand in this first Bond novel. In an effort to fight against his nemesis Le Chiffre, he gets into an exclusive casino in order to play a game of baccarat with a prize of 50 million French Francs. Casino Royale was the book which started it all and has been converted to the movie twice.

3. The Gambler,
written by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

One of the earliest books about casinos in this list, the great Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky wrote The Gambler ironically to pay off his own debts. It tells the story of a young man that desperately wants to improve his status working in a rich Russian general’s household. He attempts this by gambling in the casinos but ends of suffering loss after loss. He becomes obsessed and so addicted that the rest of his life suffers.

4. Last Call, written
by Tim Powers

Last Call is a weird fantasy novel which is very typical of Tim Powers who is well-known for The Anubis Gates and On Stranger Tides. Scott Crane, the major character of the novel, has hit rock bottom – his wife has died, he has lost an eye, and he’s heading towards alcoholism. But the worst thing is that he thinks he may have gambled away his soul since 20 years ago and now he has to come back to the seedy life of the casino to win it back because somebody is trying to kill him.